 |
Math Cats for Teachers and Parents |
 Math Cats for Kids |
|
 return to the Idea Bank index |
(Share your ideas, too!)
|
| teaching the concept of odd and even numbers
> Need fun ways to teach odd and even numbers to second graders. Partners and Clapping Patterns 1) I tell the kids to hold up a certain number of fingers, then to "partner up" the fingers. If every finger has a partner, the number is even. If a finger lacks a partner, it's odd. Then I explain that for larger numbers, you look at the ones place for the number of fingers to partner. 2) We count to a certain number alternating claps and snaps. All of the claps are odd numbers, all of the snaps are even. Here are two ways, on teachers.net primary elementary board - - - - - A Chant for Odd and Even Numbers Someone on this board posted this in response to my question (sorry...don't remember who). I tried it and it works great. Here is a chant:
2,4,6,8,10 -- even numbers let's say it again! Each day we determine if the date and the day of school is odd or even. They must explain why it is odd or even also. JUM, on teachers.net primary elementary board - - - - - Hundreds Chart Yesterday we used the hundred chart I designed for the Run the Seasons program. I ran off a bunch of copies and the kids colored in the squares above the even numbers. They wrote 'Even' on their pages. All but two of the first graders caught on to the "even" pattern of counting by 2's quickly. You can print the charts and use them for this too. Carol, on teachers.net primary elementary board - - - - - Chart, Cubes, Fingers, Book First I introduce that all numbers are either odd or even. Even numbers have partners, odd numbers do not...like being odd man out. I ask a child to come to the front of the room and ask if ____ has a partner? Then I begin a chart and write 1 in the odd column. I continue this with the numbers two and three. Then children use unifix cubes to manipulate to find out if numbers 4 - 9 are odd or even. If they partner them, they are even. If there is an odd man out, it is odd. We continue to add to the chart. We talk about patterns and where 0 belongs. I mention how even though 0 can not have a partner, 10 does. We try it with unifix cubes and we talk about place value. Then I continue to ask questions and show them that no matter how large a number is, they can know if it is odd/even by looking at the ones place. I end with a book called The Crayon Counting Book. It is about counting odd and even numbers -- great book. This is a simple concept for the children. I teach first grade. I also show them with their hands how to partner the fingers up. Stac - - - - - Book, Patterns, Pasta, Graph Paper There is a Hello Reader called Even Steven and Odd Todd. A friend just shared with me tonight how she used it in her room and then the kids role-played the story. What fun they had! In first grade we barely talk about even and odd; however, we do get into skip counting by 2's. Also, we make an AB pattern. Our favorite is to use pipe cleaners and dyed pasta. There is a short pasta "tube" that is called Chili Mac. About 30 of these little pieces can be strung on one pipe cleaner. I dye half of my pasta yellow and the other half red. Even the boys like these counting bracelets. How about 1" graph paper cut into 10" by 10" pieces. Students write from 1 to 100. Then using red and yellow color pencils, the squares are colored in: yellow for odd, and red for even.
Posted by KathyB/1st/IA
| Even and Odd Numbers for second graders
> I am teaching a lesson on even and odd numbers to second Partners Penny, we just finished learning about even and odd. One activity that we did we had the students come up front then we had them break off into partners. We keep stating that for a number to be EVEN it must have a partner. We did this with some different numbers. They had a fun time doing so. We read the same book as you are planning. Christy/2/PA, on teachers.net primary elementary board - - - - - What numbers would Even Steven and Odd Todd like? I also just got that book. I copied (grayscale) the cover and cut out the 2 characters. I pasted them to the top of a blank sheet and wrote "Odd Todd" and "Even Steven" above their pictures. Then I wrote the question, "What numbers would Todd like? What numbers would Steven like?" I drew a line down the middle. I am going to have the kids first fold a blank sheet into 12 rectangles and write any 12 numbers (one in each rectangle. (You could use a hundreds chart instead and let them pick numbers.) Then they will cut and glue the numbers Todd likes (odd) under Todd and the numbers Steven likes (even ) under him. By the way, of course the book will already have been read, and we have done the chant that was posted several times here. As part of a math literacy class, I also made a book/game that goes with this book. Same idea as above, except I colored the pictures with markers and mounted the page on tagboard and contacted them. The odd/even numbers are already cut out and velcro-backed so the kids can stick them under the right character. The rectangles for the numbers 1-12 have both the number and that amount of small stickers lined up to visually show the one that doesn't have a partner if it is odd. Then there is a harder page that goes up to three-digit numbers with no stickers of course. The last page has kids choose, "What numbers do you like best? Odd or Even." Hope this is clear. LL/NYC, on teachers.net primary elementary board - - - - - Pair up unifix cubes, look for patterns, look at dice, write in math journals First, I would define what odd and even means to them presently. Vocabulary development: You could relate these terms to sorting socks/mittens/matching shapes. (even means that their are matching pairs or that items can be divided into two equal groups. Have students scoop unifix cubes and arrange them in partners to determine if they have "scooped" an odd or even number. Count and record the number under odd/even. (Small plastic containers and cans work well for scooping.) Repeat the scooping a number of times.
Discuss what they have discovered by this exploration: Have them highlight the numbers they have recorded on a numberline or hundreds grid. Discuss the pattern and then have students predict other possible even numbers and explain their predictions. Have them check the predictions using the cubes. (By now they should be getting the idea that even numbers can be grouped by twos/two equal groups. In addition they should come up with the fact that even numbers are numbers that you say when counting by twos (or end in 0,2,4,6,8). They should also be able to discuss that odd numbers end in 1,3,5,7,9 and that two equal groups are not possible; that odd numbers are the numbers that you do not say when counting by 2's. As an extension you could have them look at a die and its dot pattern. What do they notice? (Hint: odd numbers have a dot in the middle; even numbers do not.) Assess their understanding by giving the students numbers and having the student state whether it is odd/even and explain how they determined their choice. Have students write what they have discovered about odd/even in their math journal/or a group chart for future reference. S.J., on teachers.net primary elementary board - - - - - Odd Man Out (Finger Activity) My campus uses a curriculum by the name of Sharon Wells. On the topic of odd and even there is a strategy that is emphasized and the students really "get it." It is called "Odd Man Out." What you do is you call out a number, say 6. You start counting on your right thumb and you say one, count on your left thumb and say two, count on your right index finger and say three, count on your left index finger and say four continue in this manner until you get to the desired number. When you have reached the number, put hands together and see if every finger has a partner. If it does, the number is considered even; if it doesn't, the number is considered odd (odd man out). When the number is ten or higher (say, 15) touch your ten fingertips and say 10 then begin counting on your thumb and say 11 and the left thumb and say 12, etc. If the number is 20, 30, etc., touch your ten fingertips that many times (twice for 20, three times for 30, etc.) and continue counting as described above. Students really get to understand the concept. I hope you understood the directions and most of all I hope it helps you in your lesson. michelle, on teachers.net primary elementary board - - - - - Shout and Whisper I have mine shout the even numbers and whisper the odd numbers to help them see the pattern at first.
mjf/2, on teachers.net primary elementary board |
|
|
| © copyright Wendy Petti of Math Cats. All Rights Reserved. |
